Have you ever been told in a taxi, “the terminal is not working, cash only”? The Financial Administration decided to check how honestly the capital’s carriers operate and sent inspectors on trips disguised as ordinary passengers.
The control action called TAXI, conducted by the Customs Office of Bratislava (Colný úrad Bratislava) on behalf of Finančná správa (Financial Administration), started recently and, according to reports, will last at least a month. It will affect both passengers and Ukrainians working in the transport sector: for a seemingly minor violation, you can now realistically get a fine of 1,500 euros.
What the first raid showed
During the action, inspectors rode in 22 taxis and conducted six local investigations. They checked everything required by Slovak legislation:
registration of revenue in the eKasa system (electronic system for recording cash and cashless payments);
issuing cash receipts to passengers;
possibility to pay for the ride cashlessly;
complete set of driver’s permits;
correct marking of the taxi vehicle.
The result of the raid — nine fines: two on-the-spot decisions totaling 1,650 euros and seven block fines totaling 900 euros. The biggest fine went to a driver who did not register the received revenue in eKasa — 1,500 euros in one fine, writes Techbyte. Another case, where revenue was entered into the system late, was forwarded for further review, so that driver will still have to explain.
Why taxi drivers came under scrutiny
The raids were prompted by statistics that have long raised questions at Finančná správa (Financial Administration). During 2025, over 86% of taxi inspections found legal violations. And analysis of tax returns for 2024 showed that almost half of taxi drivers in Slovakia either declared no income or declared an amount up to 2,000 euros per year. For a profession where a person is behind the wheel all year, such figures look, to say the least, strange.
This concerns the whole country, not just Bratislava. During the Taxi action in November 2025 across Slovakia, 222 inspections were conducted, and in almost half of the cases (48.65%) violations were found, with fines reaching 33,910 euros, reports Netky.sk. So similar raids can be expected in other cities as well.
New requirement: cashless payment is mandatory
Special attention of inspectors is on what directly concerns every passenger. From May 1, 2026, all entrepreneurs required to register revenue in eKasa must offer the customer at least one cashless payment method for payments over one euro.
And this does not necessarily mean a bank terminal: a QR code for payment or another transfer option is enough. So the excuse “the terminal is broken” will no longer work — the driver must have an alternative. If a taxi driver insists on cash only and does not offer any cashless option, this is already grounds for a complaint.
What this means in practice
If you are a passenger — you must always be given a receipt, and the option to pay by card or phone must be available in every taxi. The absence of a receipt means the trip will most likely not be declared, and you unknowingly become part of the scheme.
If you work in a taxi yourself or plan to open a živnosť (sole-trader licence — self-employment) in the transport sector, keep in mind: inspections have become regular, and inspectors get into cars disguised as clients. The minimum set for peace of mind — a working eKasa, receipts for every passenger, a cashless option, a full set of documents, and correct vehicle marking. The cheapest fine in this story costs hundreds of euros, the most expensive so far — 1,500.
And in autumn, according to reports, Finančná správa plans to target foreign bus companies that carry passengers outside the EU. So the season of carrier inspections in Slovakia is just beginning.
